The present invention relates to an optical disk device which converts an image signal read in from an optical disk to a specified resolution, and outputs it.
In the prior art, optical disk devices which replay images and audio recorded upon optical disks, such as CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray disks and the like have become generally widespread.
In recent years, it has become common to connect this type of optical disk device to a display device which displays the replay image via a bidirectional type interface. An example of such a bidirectional type interface is the HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface). The display device may be, for example, a monitor which is compatible with the HDMI standard, or a television which is compatible with the HDMI standard. Upon this display device, the user is able to view an image based upon the image signal outputted from the optical disk device, and to hear audio based upon the audio signal likewise outputted therefrom.
With this kind of optical disk device, the resolution of the image which is recorded upon the optical disk and the resolution with which the display device is compatible do not necessarily agree with one another. Due to this, the optical disk device does not output the image signal which is recorded upon the hard disk just as it is, but instead automatically converts said image signal to a resolution which the display device can display. And thereafter the optical disk device outputs this converted image signal to the optical disk device.
In particular, with the HDMI standard, an optical disk device is able to acquire, from a display device, a plurality of resolutions with which the display device is compatible. Due to this, the optical disk device outputs the image signal to the display device, after having automatically converted it to the highest one among said plurality of resolutions.
However, at the display device on the reception side, there is a native resolution at which it can output at its best quality. Due to this, its highest resolution is not its resolution at which it outputs at its best quality. Moreover, a greater time period is required for processing an image signal at high resolution, than for processing an image signal at a lower resolution. Because of this, the user is sometimes obliged to wait during this greater time period, which is not desirable.
Accordingly, in the light of these facts, it is sometimes not desirable from the point of view of the user for the image signal to be converted to the highest resolution of which the display device is capable.
Accordingly an image capture and display device has been proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2001-274985, upon which the resolution is set manually. This image capture and display device is connected to a monitor via an interface. And this image capture and display device includes an actuation unit which receives input of a desired resolution. Moreover, this image capture and display device converts its image signal to the resolution which has thus been inputted via the actuation unit, and then outputs this converted image signal to the monitor.
However, the image capture and display device and the monitor which are described in the above identified Japanese Patent Publication 2001-274985 are connected together via an interface which is only capable of one way (unidirectional) communication. Due to this, the image capture and display device is not capable of discovering, with which resolutions the display device is and is not compatible.
Accordingly, with the image capture and display device described in the above identified Japanese Patent Publication 2001-274985, the problem arises that, if the user undesirably inputs a resolution with which the monitor is not compatible, the replay image cannot be displayed upon the monitor in an adequate manner. In this case, the user may not understand the cause of the problem, and may even consider making a complaint or a claim to the sales outlet, from which he purchased the image capture and display device.
The objective of the present invention is to provide an optical disk device upon which the resolution can be set manually, and moreover with which it is possible to display a replay image upon a display device in an adequate manner.